Heartstrings
by Lialane Graest
Summary: Stein is on a solo mission that is taking longer than anticipated, and groups are sent out to find him. When he is found, he has a little bundle of joy with him, the child's parents dead at the hands of a prekishin, his identity unknown. Includes OCs that belong to TheAUWalker; Charlotte and Rim. Past!SteinxCharlotte, CharlottexRim, SteinxMarie


The wind that was rushing through the open window was bitterly cold. The woman standing in the window was shivering, her arms wrapped tightly around herself and tears on her cheeks. A hand slipped around her stomach, pulling her against a well-muscled chest and torso before slowly, gently, spinning her around. The man leaned his face down to hers, and pressed warm lips to almost numb ones.

"Charlotte, he's fine." Rim said quietly, all the conviction of a promise in his voice. "I know that you're worrying about him."

"I'm not-" Rim's lips silenced the meister.

"Charlotte… I know that you love Stein. It's been obvious to everyone. I was surprised when you agreed to marry me, and I knew even then that you'd never be completely mine. So please, don't lie. I know that you're worrying yourself sick over him. He's only been missing about three days. Marie is looking for him; Spirit is looking for him-"

"We should be looking for him!" Charlotte nearly screamed before she crumpled against Rim's chest, sobs tearing from her.

"Charlotte, you know why we can't. I'm Europe's death scythe. You're here to serve as my meister, and we've had a rash of attacks from increasingly powerful pre-kishin. If we could, I would go with you, and we would find him. Do you understand? But we have to wait, to be patient."

She looked up at him then and sighed. "I know, Rim… I just… I… worry…" she finished lamely.

A small smile crossed Rim's face and he swept Charlotte off her feet. "I know you do. We all do, Charlotte. Besides… you're not giving Stein the credit he deserves. He didn't fall into madness- he's just on a solo mission. It's not unusual for them to take longer than anticipated. They would have sent Marie or Spirit with him if it was going to be that tough of an assignment."

Charlotte nuzzled her face against Rim's chest and sighed. "I suppose you're right… I'm getting worked up over nothing."

His smile was almost lost in the darkness as he carried her back to their bed, slipping her cold body underneath the covers before returning to the window to close it. When he went back Charlotte had squirmed over to his side of the bed and had her pillow wrapped in her arms, her chin resting on it. Rim chuckled slightly, slipping into bed and wrapping his arms around her. He pulled her back against his chest and gave a content sigh; even without a pillow, he'd want to sleep no other way than this.

* * *

Stein blinked the blood from his eyes. It streamed down again, leaving a trail down the side of his face and he blinked rapidly to clear the blood from his eyes again.

It was a losing battle. Head wounds tend to bleed profusely, and without the use of his hands he couldn't apply pressure to even try to stop the bleeding.

His enemy knew this, and was circling the meister with a cruel grin on its face. Stein adjusted the bundle in his arms, managing to support it, albeit briefly, with one hand. He used the other to wipe the majority of the blood from his face, and his enemy chose then to act.

It pounced at the meister, razor sharp teeth bared as the thing snarled. Stein reacted instinctively, ducking and sliding, all while being as careful as he could with the bundle in his arms. One of the thing's claws slashed out and caught the meister's left arm, tearing it backwards and Stein dropped the bundle.

A piercing cry tore through the air, and Stein darted for the bundle. The thing was faster than him though and batted him backwards before picking up the bundle by a corner of the fabric it was wrapped in, smirking. The blanket unraveled and Stein charged as the thing grabbed the falling infant, letting the child dangle by one foot while a long tongue snaked out to lick the thing's lips.

"Last one. Good. Yum." It murmured, lifting the child into the air as its jaws contorted hideously.

Stein was completely silent as he slammed into the monster, his momentum causing it to drop the child, who started squalling pitifully.

"You no take. My food." The monster growled out, sharp claws tearing into the meister's side. Stein's wavelength rushed over the creature, and it screamed, the sound briefly drowning out the child's squalls. Stein pushed the attack, his wavelength crackling menacingly as he drove his right fist against the creature's temple.

It took every bit of strength he had to raise his mangled left arm to match the right and send his wavelength coursing through the creature's brain, but he managed it. Stein collapsed as the creature did, his hand snagging the soul and storing it before quickly moving to the screaming infant. He checked the child quickly for signs of any severe injuries, and other than a few bruises that were obviously forming, he thankfully found none.

* * *

Stein had fashioned a sling of his lab coat and was carrying the child against his chest, his left arm hanging limp against his side when Spirit and Marie found him. The scientist's eyes were unfocused, and for a brief moment he kept walking when they stopped. Only Marie's touch seemed to bring the scientist back to himself.

Marie slipped the infant from the sling Stein had created, cooing at it as she looked back up at Stein. Her mouth formed a small "O" that fascinated the scientist almost as much as the sudden sensation of falling did. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

* * *

Charlotte paced outside his room, Rim standing beside her with Marie and Spirit. Charlotte had begged and begged until Shinigami-sama himself had agreed to allow her and Rim a few days to come to the states, all so Charlotte could check on Stein's condition herself; the meister wasn't content with seeing video images or anything sent through a mirror. Knowing her still-fragile (but improving) mental health, Shinigami-sama had eventually caved.

Now she stood outside the room, looking down at the child that Marie was holding, the baby's violet eyes staring questioningly up at all of them.

"Who is she?" Rim asked, letting the infant hold his finger as Marie rocked it.

"He." Marie corrected.

Spirit explained, "Stein was on a mission to stop a prekishin that had been murdering people. It had started with one at a time, over a course of time. As the prekishin gained in power it started killing more at once. At first we thought it was a serial killer that the police would be able to take care of. It became obvious that it wasn't."

Spirit looked up at the ceiling. "We knew it was a dangerous mission, but we sent Stein because we figured he would be able to get in and out quickly. Apparently, from what we've gathered, when he arrived the prekishin had stepped up its murder rate exponentially. Stein told us himself that he only saw three living people in the entire town. This child and what he assumed was his parents. He was too late to save the child's parents." A pain looked crossed the death scythe's face. "We'll probably never know who he actually was. It was a very small town… and all of its inhabitants are dead…"

Charlotte looked down at the child and felt something tug in her, and she looked up at Rim. "What's going to happen to him now? He has no family…"

Marie answered. "He's… he's going to have to go into a foster home… Shinigami-sama is still trying to work out where. We don't know if he's a weapon or meister or neither, so Shinigami-sama is reluctant to place him with a normal family." She looked wistful for a second. "Franken would never agree to us adopting him."

"That's a shame, Marie." Spirit said quietly. "But I'm sure you'll get to have a family sometime or another. You just have to convince Stein first." Marie gave a half-hearted laugh.

Rim knew then, even though Charlotte didn't say anything. She wanted to adopt the child.

The door opened and the assembled crowd looked up as Nygus stepped out. "He's awake and conscious enough for visitors. I want all of you to keep your voices down, and don't touch him. He's… well, it's Stein. Don't push your luck. He's not happy being cooped up."

They all filed in, Marie with a huge smile on her face as she claimed the chair that was sitting beside Stein's bed. Her hand reached out despite Nygus' warnings and wrapped warmly around the meister's right hand. Stein gave her an exasperated look, but didn't pull away and instead looked at the assembled people.

"I'm not dying… don't you all have better things to be doing?" Stein's voice was slightly slurred from the pain medication that was dripping through an IV and the meister's eyes weren't quite focused.

"We're just checking up on you. How's your arm and side feeling?" Spirit asked, his hands in his pockets as he looked down at Stein.

"Like something took a chunk out of them and then I had to have that chunk sewn back on." Stein remarked dryly.

Spirit gave him a small smirk. "Least you'll have a new set of stitches to show off, Stein."

Stein smirked back. "Like I needed any more, Senpai. You'll help Marie get me home? I told Nygus I was leaving with you all."

Marie's smile fell a bit. "Franken, you have to stay here at least one more night. You're still on the IV drip."

The man glared. "Something I am more than capable of doing in my own home, Marie."

Marie just shook her head. "I'm sorry, Franken."

The man closed his eyes then. "I'm injured and I should sleep."

Marie's smile fell completely off and she stood, her hand slipping from his limp one. She stepped out of the room and Spirit and Rim followed. Charlotte remained behind for a moment, moving over to the meister's side. Her hand slipped around his and he opened his green eyes to look up at him.

"I was worried I had lost you…" she said quietly.

"I'm not yours to lose, Charlotte," he replied.

Charlotte smiled a sad smile. "I know, but that doesn't mean I don't feel like you are."

Stein gave her a small smile back. "I know the feeling, Charlotte."

She leaned across his chest then, awkwardly hugging him. _"I'm so glad I didn't."_

* * *

Three years later Rim and Charlotte stood watching their son play in the front yard, the boy's violet eyes darting around the lawn as he chased lightning bugs in the early night. Rim wrapped his arms around Charlotte's shoulders, Charlotte's hands resting on her large stomach.

"Franken!" Rim called out, "It's time to go in, it's starting to get cold out and you don't want your mother and your brother getting sick now do you?"

A grin split the black haired boy's face as he darted across the lawn, his hands cupped together.

"I brought you some fireflies, little brudder!" He said, carefully opening his hands and pressing them to Charlotte's stomach. The bugs crawled from his hands and onto her stomach before lighting up and flying into the night, Franken giggling as he watched them.

"That's very nice of you, Franken." Charlotte said, giving the boy a warm smile as he slipped his hands into hers and Rim's. The pair walked into the house as the boy chattered on about how he couldn't wait to get to meet his little brother Spirit.

* * *

**A/N: A fic written for TheAUWalker again. Charlotte and Rim both belong to her. I hope this was sweet and happy even if it did have some sadness in it. I don't own Soul Eater.**


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